Early in “Poser,” Claire Dederer describes a regular walk she takes with a new-mom friend in her North Seattle neighborhood: “We made a circle around Green Lake, and so our talk traveled. We started with our babies and tried to decipher all the new rules we had to follow. The talk opened out to work, maybe briefly touched the real world, and then, like a tight magic circle, closed back in on babies again. It was a dark enchantment.”

The book, which arrived in stores last Thursday, examines the culture surrounding motherhood in North Seattle, as well as the author’s experiences with yoga after putting her back out while breastfeeding her baby daughter.

From the NYT review:

“We were a generation of hollow-eyed women, chasing virtue,” she tells us. “We, the mothers of North Seattle, were consumed with trying to do everything right.” North Seattle — a first cousin of Park Slope, the Upper West Side, Berkeley and dozens of other such enclaves around the country — was a place where attachment parenting was all the rage. Kids weren’t weaned until they spoke in full sentences. Families all slept in the same bed; ate the same organic, locally produced food; and lived in an enriching environment safe from the dangers of plastic toys and disposable diapers.

A book tour begins on Jan. 9 on Bainbridge Island, the author’s current home, and continues through the month of January. She will make several appearances in Seattle, including one at Ravenna Third Place Books (6504 20th Ave NE) on Wednesday, Jan. 26, 7 p.m.